Journalists and academics bear the brunt of the massive crackdown on freedom of expression in Turkey. Scores of them are currently subject to criminal investigations or behind bars. This website is dedicated to tracking the legal process against them.

Information on this website is compiled by Punto24 (Platform for Independent Journalism) from open sources.

Detention warrants were also issued for Akın Atalay, vice president of the Cumhuriyet Foundation and journalist Nebil Özgentürk. The two men were outside the country at the time of the raid. Cumhuriyet Foundation President Orhan Erinç’s home was also raided, but he wasn’t taken into custody due to his advanced age.

A statement from the Istanbul Prosecutor’s Office said the raids were the result of an investigation launched on Aug. 18, following “claims that [the newspaper’s] publications printed prior to the July 15 coup attempt served to legitimize the coup, on charges of committing crimes on behalf of the terrorist organizations FETÖ/PDY [Fethullahist Terror Organization/Parallel State Structure] and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)/Kurdistan Communities’ Union (KCK),” both of which are considered terrorist organizations by Turkey, although there is no organization that calls itself “FETÖ/PDY” and so far no court ruling has established that the said group is a terror organization.

The attack on the critical newspaper caused outrage, with many professional press organizations including the Turkish Association of Journalists (TGC), the Turkish Journalists’ Union (TGS), Basın-İş — a member of the Confederation of Revolutionary Workers’ Unions (DİSK) — and the Turkish representative of Reporters without Borders (RSF), have called on supporters to gather outside the Cumhuriyet office in Istanbul. Thousands gathered outside the Cumhuriyet building in protest of the arrests.

European politicians also issued critical statements. “The detention of Murat Sabuncu and other #Cumhuriyet journalists is yet another red-line crossed against freedom of expression in #Turkey” tweeted Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament.

Dutch MEP Kati Piri, who is also the European Parliament rapporteur on Turkey’s accession progress, tweeted “The situation in Turkey is going from bad to worse. Today’s crackdown on Turkey’s oldest independent paper #Cumhuriyet is unacceptable.”

The U.S. State Department said it was deeply concerned by the continuing pressure on news media.